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bishop of Exeter eight bishops expressed their dissent from the consecrators in writing, so that the anomaly is exhibited of a consecration regular and valid according to the law of the land, and irregular and void according to the law of the church. Mr. McClellan, like ourselves, can see only one way of escape from this painful position. He writes:

an

"I have said that the disease is desperate. A very eminent and honest but startling writer, the present Vice-Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, in his 'Present Dangers of the Church of England,' wherein he recognizes (as every thoughtful observer must) that a revolution of opinion is at hand, and that, unless sweeping and radical changes intervene, the downfall of the Church is imminent, suggests what he confesses to be a 'desperate remedy.' It will be found nothing short of an amputation of Church doctrine by Act of Parliament. Parliament alone,' says he, (p. 12) which bound, can loose;' according to the modern presumptuous rendering of Matt. xvi. 19: 'I give unto thee, O Parliament, the keys of the kingdom of heavem, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' Nor are signs wanting that many amongst us, even in high places, would welcome such apostasy-a widening of the foundations, they would term it-rather than abandon the long-cherished ideal of a ChurchEstablishment. Be it so. The Church, I am persuaded, will not. She will yet forsake her fornications and return to her first love.' But how? There is but one way, and that-I must pronounce it-is DISESTABLISHMENT. I feel how painful it is to run counter to the early associations, the pious longings, and even the earnest prayers, of that large body of the English clergy who still cling to an Establishment as the means of the salvation of souls, men who for their gentleness of manners, their purity of example and depth of learning, their work of faith and labour of love, merit and will receive, I trust, even in the gratitude and reverence of their fellow-men, far greater and more enduring honour than the State can bestow. But I am certain that now with the present heterogeneous composition of the State, and the now recognized duty of her dealing out equal political justice to all classes and all creeds, the Church on the one hand has no shadow of right to the continuance of her present political ascendancy, and the State on the other hand has none to the maintenance of her present ecclesiastical control; and further that, with the present just political toleration of all religious beliefs or unbeliefs in sub

279

jects of the realm, all equally entitled to political representation and influence in the secular Parliament and the secular government, the Church must at once face the alternative of either retaining her Establishment and repudiating the Faith, or retaining the Faith and repudiating her Establishment. Virtually disestablished, indeed, she is already: disestablished, and politically justly so, by various Acts of Parliament affecting the Papists and Protestant nonconformists; disestablished by the abolition of church rates; disestablished by the disestablishment of the Irish Church; soon to be disestablished by Burial, Tests, and Education Acts. Is it too much to hope that the great and admired statesman who last year became the liberator and regenerator of the Irish Church may soon become, as friend or foe must soon become, the liberator and regenerator of the Church of England."

And as a "straw on the stream" we may add the following testimony to the character of that church polity which we derive from the New Testament:-" The Congregationalists preserve better than ourselves the independence of each separate church, though the diocese with them is a simple congregation. Again, the Protestant dissenters generally, according to primitive practice, elect their own pastors by their laity, and require for the ordinations of their Congregational-bishops, if they may so say, the presence or implied consent of their Comprovincials, i.e., their neighbouring pastors, and have model ordinationquestions that put us to shame; and finally they totally reject the interference of the Civil power."

We hail discussions of this kind, conducted in this spirit, as sure to aid in the promotion of that Christianity which is dearer to us than any and all of our divisions.

WHAT IS THE USE OF INFANT BAPTISM? By J. R. Pretyman, M.A., formerly Vicar of Aylesbury, Bucks. London: Hamilton & Co.

AN American paper of high credit says, "Pædobaptist churches generally complain of the rapid decline of infant baptism. Statistics show that a large minority in all of them have lost confidence in the rite, and that in some of them a minority merely hold to it." The difficulty of carry. ing out its practice in the free Pedobaptist churches of England is well known. The people generally disregard it. They cannot see any use in it. They have a vague feeling that if it were of any value whatever the Scriptures would have enjoined it, or furnished evidence that the apostles practised it. The late vicar of Ayles

bury has been led to a similar conclusion. A young and devout relative who was preparing for confirmation asked him, "What is the use, then, of infant baptism?" He was thereby led to review the opinions which education and custom had formed in his mind on the subject of baptism, and the review has led to a complete change of views; and he answers the question now, by saying that there is no good use in it; that the practice tends on the contrary to cloud and perplex the great truth-that faith in Christ is the divinely appointed means of obtaining pardon and holiness; that if in itself comparatively harmless, the practice supplies a foundation for the superstructure of essential error as to the way of salvation. The pamphlet is an admirable and unanswerable piece of reasoning.

CHRISTIANITY RE-EXAMINED. By S. Cowdy. Second Series. London: Robert Hall,

256, Camberwell Road. THIS book of 236 pages consists of seven lectures delivered to young men on the leading evidences of the Christian religion. Following up the first series printed just a year ago, Mr. Cowdy begins by citing the witness of the Lord Jesus Himself to Christianity, and then he examines in succession the chief and central doctrine of the gospel, the memorials of godly and self-denying Christians, the systems of Mahommedanism and Mormonism, the dictates and necessities of conscience, and the prophecies of the Old Testament with their fulfilment. The last lecture is devoted to a summary of the fourteen discourses, and a brief statement of the claims of

I THINK not any soldier
Can sheathe a bloody sword,
And find a peaceful slumber
Upon the battle-sward.
"Tis true he may have followed
Some truth into the fight,
And simply have defended

A right against a might;
But eyes were never human
That calmly bore the sight
Of bloody execution

Though in defence of right. If drops that stain the scaffold

Christianity upon the attention of young men. These productions display research, (the benefits of which are given in numerous quotations,) some imaginative power, intense earnestness, and a devout desire to do good.

PSALMS, HYMNS, AND ANTHEMS. Selected, Composed, and Arranged for congregational or private use by Samuel Smith, Bradford. London: Hamilton, Adams,

& Co.

THIS is a very useful book, convenient in size, and cheap in price, and worthy of being recommended to congregations in search of a chant-book for the service of song. The Psalms are well selected, and generally given without abridgment, which is not always the case in Allon's Chant Book. The anthems have great merit. It contains one hundred and fifty Psalms, two dozen other passages of scripture, several hymns and sanctuses, the Ter Sanctus, and the Te Deum, &c. C. G.

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS RECEIVED. The Book of Praise for Home and School, by S. D. Major, Bath (twentieth thousand). The Doom of the Unjust, by Arthur Pridham.-Dialogue on Life in Christ, the State of the Dead, and the Punishment of the Wicked, by G. Wright (E. Stock). The Church. Sword and Trowel. The Rainbow.-Biblical Notes and Queries. Sunday Magazine. — The Sunday School World.-The Hive.-The Scattered Nation.-Congregational Miscellany. The Country Words of the West Riding. The Deluge, a Fragment, by J. R. Robinson, &c., &c.

Poetry.

THE SWORD.

Ooze darkly with their guilt, Brave blood may stream in battleThe tyrant's still unspilt.

And aye the truest soldier

Must still the saddest be,

For perhaps the men he's smitten Were kind and brave as he.

Ripley.

O let me man the life-boat,
And struggle with the storm!
But ne'er the honours covet
Of noblest soldier born;
For in the warrior's memory,
Like blood-rust on his sword,
Are scars of ghastly horror
Deep from the battle-sward.
The fields in after summers,

Gemmed with their flowers of yore,
Forget the scream of agony,
The steps that slipped in gore;

But in the mildewed memory
The roots of gladness die;
For what in blood has perished
Time has no bye and bye.
With sadness, then, O soldier,
Sheathe thou thy sword again,
Hence on thy deepest slumber
"Twill splash its crimson rain.

E. H. J.

Church Begister.

UNION BAPTIST BUILDING FUND.-The Secretary desires to state that his address is now as follows:-Mr. J. T. GALE, 8, Caledonian Road, Leeds.

MIDLAND CONFERENCE.-The next meeting will be at Leake, Tuesday, Sept. 13. Rev. J. Alcorn will preach at 11 a.m.

C. CLARKE, Secretary.

This

THE LINCOLNSHIRE AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE GENERAL BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION held its forty-second annual meeting at Coningsby, July 28, 1870. Union has 1752 scholars and 223 teachers. The usual prayer meeting was held at 7 a.m., and at ten o'clock (Rev. W. Sharman presiding) reports were read from fourteen schools. Divine service began at eleven. Rev. J. Staddon read the Scriptures and prayed, and Rev. F. Chamberlain, of Fleet, preached the annual sermon from Prov. xxiv. 11, 12.

At 2.30 p.m., Mr. J. Best, the chairman of the year, gave a suitable and interesting annual address. Mr. Godsmark read a paper on "Juvenile criminality in connection with Sabbath schools." A vote of thanks was unanimously accorded for the paper, and a profitable discussion took place upon it. The Rev. F. Chamberlain was thanked for his sermon, and he was requested to send it to the Editor of our Magazine for publication. The superintendents arranged for monthly correspondence amongst the schools during the

year.

At 6.30 p.m., Mr. J. Best presided, and the following subjects were discussed :"Is the state of succession in our Sunday schools and our want of zeal and diligence in the Lord's work caused by lack of prayer?" "How are we to deal with refractory scholars ?" After this, short

addresses were given by the Revs. J. S. Purser, J. E. Moore, J. Staddon, and Messrs. T. Sharman, Woodruff, Green, and the chairman.

The next meeting is to be held at Gedney Broadgate. Preacher-Rev. J. S. Purser, or in case of failure Rev. J. E. Moore. Chairman-Mr. R. T. Bayley. The subject of the annual paper-" The picture of a well-ordered and successful Sabbath school." Writer-Mr. Atton. Secretary for the next three years-Mr. Woodruff, of Spalding.

PARKINSON BOTHAMLEY, Sec. pro tem.

SCHOOL SERMONS. BURNLEY, Clow Bridge. August 14. Preacher, Rev. J. Batey. Collections, £17 3s. 3d.

EDGESIDE.-July 31. Preacher, Rev. C. Springthorpe. Collections, £29 13s. 3d. HITCHIN.-July 31. Preacher, Rev. S. S. Allsop, of March.

PETERBOROUGH.-July 31. Preacher, Rev. H. B. Robinson, of Chatteris. Collections, £13 10s.

SMALLEY.-July 10. Preacher, Rev. J. Owers, of Loscoe. Collections, £8 1s. 6d. SWADLINCOTE.-July 24. Preacher, Rev. T. Stevenson, of Leicester. Collections, £11 9s.

WEST VALE.-July. Preacher, Rev. I. Preston. Collections, £43 2s. 10d.

RECOGNITION SERVICE.

REV. E. H. JACKSON, late of Castle Donington, was welcomed to the pastorate of the church at Ripley, Aug. 9. There were many friends present from Derby. Mr. R. Argile, senior deacon, and connected with the church thirty-seven years, took the chair, and introduced the newly elected pastor. Mr. Jackson then stated his views of the Christian ministry, and the course he intended pursuing. Revs. H. Crassweller, B.A., J. Stevenson, M.A., and W. Boyden gave addresses. It was a most auspicious and happy meeting.

PRESENTATIONS.

LEICESTER, Archdeacon Lane.-July 5, the members of the Bible and Discussion Class met and presented the Rev. W. and Mrs. Bishop with a handsome timepiece as a wedding present.

Aug. 9, the Young Men's Class presented to their president, Mr. Thos. Russell, a valuable timepiece and framed address.

CENTENARY BAZAAR.

The sewing machine, said on page 248 to have been from Gibson Brothers, Hebden Bridge, was the gift of one of the deacons of the Birchcliffe church. It was made by Gibson Brothers.

BAPTISMS.

DERBY, Parker Street at (Agard Street Chapel), two, by G. Slack.

HALIFAX, North Parade.-July, four, by I. Preston.

LONDON, Praed Street.-Aug. 3, six, by J. Clifford.

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THE late Rev. Thomas Mee, Baptist minister, West Retford, Nottinghamshire, whose memoir appears in this Magazine, has left a widow and nine children, five of whom are dependent on their mother for maintenance, and three for their education in addition to their support. One daughter has been an invalid for thirteen years, and since the death of her father she has not been able to leave her bed room. The late Mr. Mee had a salary of only £80 per annum to meet the expenses of a large family, and now that scanty income is lost to the widow and the chil

dren. Without a moment's notice the worthy minister was stricken with death, and his bereaved wife and children were cast upon the world with scarcely the smallest means of subsistence. It is one of the articles of our Christian faith, that Providence will provide for the widow and the fatherless, but it is equally certain that the provision is ordinarily made through the medium of a sympathizing Christian charity, when, as in this case, there are not any available means of obtaining a livelihood by the fruits of labour or the profits of business. Words cannot be found sufficiently deep and strong to give full expression to the urgency of this appeal to the benevolence of a Christian public, and to the members of the Baptist denomination in particular. Subscriptions will be gladly and gratefully received on behalf of the bereaved family by the under. signed

Mr. ALDERMAN WILKINSON, Westfield,
East Retford.

GILES HESTER, Sharrow, Sheffield.*
J. JACKSON GOADBY.
W. UNDERWOOD, D.D.
JOHN CLIFFORD.

Obituaries.

CUNLIFFE.-Susan Cunliffe appears to have had the advantage of an early religious training. In early life she was a scholar in the Lineholme Sabbath school, and disposed to live a virtuous life. When about twenty-five years of age she was converted to God, baptized in obedience to Christ, and joined the church of her choice, and remained a consistent member to the time of her death. For the last six years she had been much afflicted, and only occasionally enjoyed the services of the sanctuary. During her recent affliction she maintained an unwavering confidence in Jesus as her Saviour, and often referred to John xiv. 1-3. The hour at length came when she was called to lay down staff and sandal; and God was to her a very present help in time of need. When death at last "rolled its wave o'er the flickering candle of life" she fell asleep in Jesus, leaving a bright assurance behind that she has gained the desired haven, and her anchor is cast" within the veil." She died in the forty-second year of her age, having been identified with us in church fellowship over fourteen years.

SUTCLIFFE Betty Sutcliffe, of Holme, was the affectionate mother of a large family of children, and was remarkable for the attention she paid to their religious

training. Previously she attended the new chapel at Toad Carr, but eventually she came to Lineholm with her children, and heard the gospel preached by the Rev. J. Wolfenden. She gave her heart to God, and her hand to His people, and on August 19, 1865, she was baptized and admitted into church fellowship, and remained faithful unto death. She assumed little, but enjoyed much; humility clothed her, and meekness adorned her. The affliction which terminated her earthly career was of a long and distressing character, but was borne with patience and Christian fortitude. She was never known to murmur or complain. So weak was she in her last moments as not to be able to deliver her last testimony in words; but when asked by her children, as she stept into the Jordan, if she was willing to depart, she gave the signal in the affirmative, and her countenance indicated tokens of victory through the blood of the Lamb. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." In a happy and peaceful state of mind she fell asleep in Jesus. J. M.

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Missionary Observer.

BAPTISM AT CUTTACK; DEATH

OF JAGOO ROUL, &c.

Cuttack, June 22, 1870.

ON Lord's-day, June 12, eight persons were baptized here after a very appropriate sermon from Kombho Naik, on the words, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." Jagoo Roul offered prayer at the close of the sermon and baptized the candidates, five of whom were from the male orphanage. The address in the afternoon was from John xvii. 14, latter part, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." It was a day of holy pleasure.

Since the baptismal Sabbath, a very heavy blow has fallen on the Mission, but as it has occurred by the will of Him who has the keys of death and the unseen world in His hands, it must be right. Jagoo Roul has finished his course. As already stated, he baptized the candidates on Lord's-day morning, he was at the Lord's table in the afternoon, and I believe on Monday was at the college. On Wednesday I heard that he was by no means well, but no danger was apprehended, and I knew that he had suffered for a little time from a debilitating internal affection. On Friday, the unfavourable symptoms abated, and he was thought decidedly better. When I saw him in the evening he appeared overpowered with sleep, but this, I supposed, was the effect of medicine. prayed with him and repeated several promises, such as, "My grace is sufficient for thee"-"I will never leave thee," &c., to which he responded, and added, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things ?" After this he slept several hours, but on awaking, instead of feeling refreshed, was evidently much worse. He felt that the time of his departure was at hand, and addressed several members of his family on the things belonging to their peace, in a solemn and deeply affecting manner. It was a touching scene, and the sentiments expressed were worthy of a dying minister of Christ. He expressed a wish to

see me once more before his departure, and I was sent for at five a.m., and went at once, but he was too far gone to converse. He died in the course of the morning, and in the evening I committed all that was mortal to the grave, assured that absent from the body, the spirit was present with the Lord. It was very wet, but many were present to show their affection for his memory. Not quite two months ago he lost his wife, who for more than twenty years had been the companion of his pilgrimage. He felt the stroke keenly, and though after a few days he went about his work as usual, it was with the air of a man smitten with the deepest sorrow, and who could never recover his former cheerfulness. His last sermon was a solemn and affectionate warning, from Eccles. ix. 10, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do," &c. He has left seven children, for whom no doubt many prayers will be offered. May the God of the fatherless care for them and bless them. In view of the loss which the orphan children have sustained, it becomes me to say little of my own; and yet I cannot be altogether silent. Jagoo has been my right hand man in the college and in all my Bible work for many years, and the loss to me is one that can never be fully repaired; but the Lord reigneth. My acquaintance with him began on the day that I entered on my work at Cuttack, nearly twenty-three years ago. I have itinerated more with him, and have been more closely associated with him, than with any of our preachers. He has honoured God by his life and death. Now is work is done, he rests from his labours, and his works will follow him.

The monsoon has burst, and for several days we have had copious rain. The thermometer has fallen from 92° and 94° to 82°. We had been sighing and praying and hoping for rain ten or twelve days before it came. It is therefore very acceptable, but the change of temperature is great and affects many.

I do not forget that this is the great day of the Centenary Association. The Lord be with you all. May the services be quickening and of lasting benefit to

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